{"id":62455,"date":"2026-05-27T01:07:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T01:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/62455\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T01:07:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T01:07:20","slug":"montreal-police-investigating-after-effigy-of-a-kippah-wearing-man-hanging-from-a-noose-displayed-at-a-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/62455\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal police investigating after effigy of a kippah-wearing man hanging from a noose displayed at a protest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Condemnations and outrage have been pouring in, and the Montreal Police hate crime unit is investigating after an anti-Israel group in Montreal marched downtown on Sunday<\/a> May 24, with an effigy of a kippah-wearing man hanging from a noose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe group Montreal4Palestine crossed the line into infamy after countless demonstrations featuring hateful and genocidal slogans, where flags of terrorist organizations (Hamas, Hezbollah) or the Iranian regime were proudly waved\u2026\u201d wrote the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Federation CJA in a joint statement Tuesday, denouncing the scene as \u201cyet another macabre spectacle: Jews hanging from a rope. This deeply antisemitic act, directly targeting our community, is reminiscent of the darkest hours of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, Montreal city councillor and former news anchor Leslie Roberts called out the act that he saw as \u201cunacceptable\u201d and said he asked the SPVM to investigate. Roberts was followed an hour later by Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather, who posted that \u201changing an image of a Jew with a kippah in effigy is disgusting, antisemitic and clear incitement to hatred.\u201d Housefather says he also contacted Montreal police.<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s consul-general in Montreal Christian Wagner<\/a> called the display \u201cdisgusting and abject,\u201d adding \u201cthe rise of antisemitism, both in Germany and Canada, is deeply concerning and we will not remain silent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The SPVM told The CJN that an investigation was opened by its Hate Crimes and Incidents Unit and that \u201can in-depth analysis of the situation is currently underway. In accordance with the applicable legal frameworks, no additional information can be disclosed at this stage in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The act could be considered criminal harassment or intimidation if directed at specific people in a way intended to instill fear or coerce conduct, or if reasonably understood as threatening death or bodily harm to a person or identifiable group; or as public incitement or wilful promotion of hatred if tied to hatred against an identifiable group under sections 318\u2013319 of Canada\u2019s Criminal Code<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Early Tuesday morning, CIJA\u2019s senior vice-president Richard Marceau noted the episode came a few days after a workshop during a federally funded conference organized by the Muslim Association of Canada, where \u201cthere is talk of making our society \u2018Jew-free\u2019<\/a>\u2026. (and) in the streets of Montreal, an effigy of a Jew is being hanged in public, in a demonstration. With no consequences. This country is sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday morning Montreal mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada chimed in, denouncing the act in general terms. \u201cThe incitement to violence, the symbols of hatred and the staging of intimidation that we see in our streets are unacceptable,\u201d she wrote.\u00a0\u201cImages of hangings or effigies have no place in Montreal, or anywhere else. Montreal must remain a city of dialogue, respect and living together, where everyone can feel safe and treated with dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montreal\u2019s executive committee member responsible for public security, Dimitrios Jim Beis, was far more specific, saying such acts \u201ccreate fear, pain and insecurity for members of the Jewish community, and for all those who believe in respect, coexistence and human dignity. We must be unequivocal in condemning antisemitism in all its forms\u201d said Beis, \u201cjust as we must stand firmly against all hate directed at any community. I trust that this incident will be taken seriously and investigated appropriately by our SPVM.\u201d<\/p>\n

Effigies were also present on Yom ha-Atzmaut on April 22<\/a> in Montreal, when a group of anti-Israel protesters assembled across the street from the Israel Independence Day rally and displayed hanged effigies of U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and what appeared to be Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.<\/p>\n

Denunciations were few following that episode \u2013 which famously included an STM<\/a> bus driver stopping to exit his bus in midday traffic to shake hands with masked protesters, many of whom were chanting for the destruction of Israel and calling the thousands of people celebrating across the street racists and terrorists. The STM denounced the driver\u2019s actions and said appropriate measures were taken in regard to the employee, but that other details cannot be disclosed. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Calculated attacks by Islamist groups<\/p>\n

For months, wrote CIJA and Federation CJA, Montreal\u2019s Jewish community has been subjected to calculated attacks by Islamist groups, with perpetrators acting with complete impunity.\u00a0 \u201cEnough is enough. We demand that the municipal administration set the tone for what is and is not acceptable in the city. We have filed a complaint with the SPVM; those who committed these hateful acts must be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The theory of protest as a harmless \u201crelease valve\u201d has run its course, they say, and \u201cthe time for complacency is over. Active violence like the scene at Bondi Beach can only happen<\/a> when hate is allowed on our streets. The time to act is now. Antisemitic hatred has no place in Quebec. Jewish Montrealers have the right to live in peace in their own homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The violent use of effigies is certainly not new in Montreal, but more common these days, and famously marked the increasing anti-Israel and antisemitic incitement and hostility on campus when an effigy of Benjamin Netanyahu was left hanging from the arch of the iconic Roddick Gates at McGill University. \u00a0<\/p>\n

More recently, an effigy of Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet was decapitated<\/a> by union activists on May Day, who defended the move as part of a long tradition of political expression.<\/p>\n

The latest incident follows days of relentless condemnations of Israel\u2019s national security minister, who was seen taunting detainees among the hundreds awaiting deportation, after their flotilla of small boats carrying activists from several countries including a dozen Canadians, sought to break an Israeli blockade and was intercepted by the Israeli Navy.<\/p>\n

Ben-Gvir was immediately and roundly denounced by most of Israel\u2019s mainstream political class, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, who said Israel was within its rights to prevent the boats from entering territorial waters, but noted \u201cthe way that Minister Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel\u2019s values and norms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar went further, denouncing his coalition colleague as \u201cnot the face of Israel,\u201d and whose \u201cdisgraceful display\u201d has undone \u201ctremendous, professional, and successful efforts\u201d made by IDF soldiers, foreign ministry staff and many others.<\/p>\n

The video prompted denunciation from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who both called Ben-Gvir\u2019s shouting and mocking detainees who were forced to kneel on the ground with their hands tied, \u201cdeplorable.\u201d Anand said she ordered staff to summon Israeli Ambassador to Canada<\/a> Iddo Moed to explain. The embassy has not commented on the matter. Canada has already imposed strict travel and asset sanctions on Ben-Gvir.<\/p>\n

A group of about two dozen protesters demonstrated outside Housefather\u2019s office in Montreal last week, holding banners in support of the flotilla. Housefather said he had not been contacted by anybody or about anyone involved in the flotilla.<\/p>\n

Flotilla participants returning to Toronto were greeted at Pearson International Airport Sunday by a crowd of demonstrators waving flags and posters, chanting \u201cDeath to the IDF,\u201d and shouting for the destruction of Israel, Zionism and more, prompting\u00a0 Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation president Michael Teper\u00a0to write to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) asking how such behaviour inside an international airport terminal was permitted by security and whether such slogans chanted inside a terminal were contrary to Ontario\u2019s human rights code.<\/p>\n

Teper said tolerating this activity has international and diplomatic implications.\u00a0\u201cI suppose the government of Canada would be concerned if an airport abroad were to tolerate a demonstration featuring slogans calling for the death of members of the Canadian Armed Forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Joel<\/p>\n

Joel has spent his entire adult life scribbling. For two decades, he freelanced for more than a dozen North American and European trade publications, writing on home decor, HR, agriculture, defense technologies and more. Having lived at 14 addresses in and around Greater Montreal, for 17 years he worked as reporter for a local community newspaper, covering the education, political and municipal beats in seven cities and boroughs. He loves to bike, swim, watch NBA and kvetch about politics.<\/p>\n


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